Sandstone Point Hotel Bonfire Night sparks outrage
A bonfire event at a hotel north of Brisbane has caused a stir online – but the organiser says it’s not as bad as it seems. SEE THE PICTURES
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A sold-out bonfire event in Moreton Bay has caused outrage online after pictures of the event emerged online.
Sandstone Point Hotel’s Bonfire Night event began at 2pm on Saturday, with fireworks, fire twirlers and a bonfire that was supervised by Queensland Fire and Emergency Services.
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Images from the event have sparked outrage among locals, with hundreds of people commenting their views on a picture of the event on Facebook and some questioning if the photographs are from last year.
It comes as the State Government on Saturday expanded strict gathering restrictions to the Darling Downs after four new COVID-19 cases were confirmed.
“How the hell can we only have 10 in our homes yet this is allowed … disgraceful,” Trent Clarke commented on a picture of the bonfire on Facebook.
Another local wrote: “Honestly these covid safe plans are a joke, no social distancing happening there AT ALL.”
Leanee Ross commented on a picture of the post: “Why is this allowed yet school formals can’t happen yet the formal consists of the kids they go to school with honestly I am over this, once again rules for some and rules for others.”
Earlier in the day, images showed patrons clearly adhering to marked zones on the lawn.
Director Robert Cromisky said the angles of images on social media were deceiving to the eye and the event was compliant with COVIDsafe protocols.
“You might be able to get one shot that looks bad, but when you actually see it from above it’s nowhere near what it looks,” he said.
“We’ve had an inspection from OLGR on behalf of Queensland Health and they were happy with our results and the way we were operating.”
Mr Cromisky said the event had an approved COVIDsafe plan, including a grid formation on the lawn, 3m wide walkways, Queensland Police officers on site, additional exits and more than 50 hand sanitising stations.
He said the image circulating on social media was taken during an event at the start of the evening when people momentarily lapsed in social distancing.
“We had police and security on that straight away, telling people to isolate and go back and sit down,” he said.
